Bearing for centrifugal machines.



I cfA. ADAMS. BEARING FOR CENTRIFUGAL' MACHINES. -APPLICATION FILED JAN- 26. 191|.

l 1 92,823. Patented July 25, 1916.

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UNrrED sTETEs PATENT OFFICE.

COMFORT A. ADAMS, 0F CAMBRIDGE, MASS'ACHLUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO AMERICAN TOOL & MACHINE COMPANY, 0F4 BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION 0F MASSA- cHUsETTs.

To all 'whom t may concern Be it known that I, COMFORT A. ADAMS,

citizen of the 'United States, and resident'ofl Cambridge, Massachusetts, county of M1d" dlesex, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Bearings for Centrifugal.

Machines-of which the following is aspecication. j l

This invention relates to centrifugal machines and is intended to provide a practical and efficient bearing'for sustaining lthe stress and strains encountered in that typeV of centrifugal machines in which the basket shaft is suspended in bearings carried by an oscillatory head or member which is supported in an overhead bracket.

The invention consists in a construction and arrangement by which' the strain of the oscillatory movement of the basket is transmitted to the oscillatory head with aminimum of friction and a minimum flexing of the parts to avoid binding, while atthe same time affording a convenient and effective means for keeping the bearings' lubricated, without permitting the admission of dust or dirt to the bearings and without subject- '.ing the resilient buffer to the disintegrating action of the oil; furthermore the oscillatory supporting bearing itself is kept free yfrom lubrication so as to afford a more substantial resistance to the oscillation of the basket than in the casewhere the oil comes in. contact with the spherical bearing, which permits this oscillation.

In the accompanying drawings I have illustra-ted the preferred construction embodying the principles of this invention.

The figure of the drawings shows a`central vertical section of the upper end of the basket supporting shaft and its supporting parts.

In the practice of my invention I employl l' a solid basket carrying shaft a which in-this case is provided at its upper end with a coupling member a rigidly secured thereto,

through which rotary motion is imparted by any suitable driving mechanism. A short' distance-below the upper end of the shaft a bearing sleeve b ,isl rigidly secured thereto. Said bearingl sleeve has an annular downward extension b whose bore is of substanytially larger diameter than the diameter of the shaft whichit surrounds in order to leave a clearance or annular space separating this downward extension from the shaft itself. This .bearing sleeve 1s` sup- Spec-ication of Letters Patent.

BEARING FOB CENTBIFUGAL MACHINES.

L `and downward to afford support for the bearings to be hereinafter described.

Between the upper portion'of the oscillatory head c and the adjacent surrounding portions of the fixed hanger d is interposed a yielding buffer preferably inthe form of a solid rubber ring e which is clamped or compressed downward by means of the holding collar e', which is-secured to the upper portion ofthe oscillatory head and has engagement. with the hanger Z as shown at e2 to prevent rotary motion of said Aoscillatory head, While permitting it to oscillate.

The'internal diameter of the oscillatory head c is lsubstantially larger than the external diameter ofi the bearing sleeve b, so as to form a fairly capacious reservoir, to which oil may be furnished by means of a supply pipe f communicating Withan oil inlet passage 02, which latter is normally closed by 'a removable stop plug c3.A At its bottom th1s reservoir is provided with an outlet c* normally closed by a stop plug c5, which may be removed to permit the' drawing off of sediment from the bottomV of the oil` chamber. The oscillatory head c is provided;

at its bottom withA an internal vertical sleeve c4 which passes, up through the annularnspace between the lower extension b of the sleeve b and the adjacent shaft, so as tc form an internal wall of an annular oil chamber the external wall of whichconsists of the head o. This external s'leeve c4? ex- Patented July 25', 1.916. l Application led January 26, 1911. Serial N o. 604,770. I

bearing head surrounding the same is interposed an anti-friction bearing g comprising two concentric rings vwith the interposed series-of bearingballs. A' similar bearing 'g' Y,is interposed between the lower end of j the bearing sleeve and the adjacent portion of the surrounding wall formed by the oscill latory head c. These two bearings support the lateral thrust caused by oscillation ofthe basket and transmit the same to the oscillatory head e with a minimum amount of friction. Below the bottom of the beailng two parts; b ut in order to provide for any drip' of oil between these parts a closed drip cup I, is provided, this -being secured to theflange portion offthe shaft below the oscillatoryhead and being provided with a normally closed-draw` of h..

i The thrust nut' which is secured to the shaft a immediately below the coupling member a together with the surrounding ring secured to the upper end' of the oscillatory head 4serves to practically close the space between theupper end of the oscillatory head `andl theA adjacent portionl of the bearing sleeveand the shaft so as to exclude dirt and other foreign 'matter from the oil-v reservoir, fas -well as to exclude the fumes of the sugar. To prevent any seepage of oil the nut is provided on its exterior face with two adjacent concentricgrooves i2 vseparated -by an intermediate .horizontal shoulder .while the internal -face of the ringl i is formed with an annular groove for a like purpose.

l"To provide-for the lubrication of the up- Vper lateral anti-friction bearing, I form in -the upper "portion of the bearing sleeveb an obliqueoil. duct or `passage 63 which adords communication between the annular space; inside of the downward 'extension b" 'of said sleeve, and the space between the exterior of the upper portion of said sleeve and the surrounding, wall of the oil chamber.

The employment of said oil passages b3 combined with the conical conformation ofthe 'inside 4ofthe bearing sleeve operates with the aid ofcentrifugal force to give a con-I tinuous Howl ofoil to the .upper bearing to ke'epA thesame well lubricaA What I claim is:

1. In acentrifugalmachine the combination of a socketed hanger, a non-rotating oscillatory suspensionxhead seated therein, a

vsolid rotary-basket shaft, an elongated bearing sleeve securedto said shaft,` 'a rotary thrust-'bearing sustaining the lower end' of lsaid sleeve, upper and lower anti-friction lateral bearings interposed respectively' between 'the upper and lower ends of 'said' sleeve and the surrounding opposed portion of the inner wall of said bearing head, the said lateral bearings being disposed above' the level of the thrst bearing 'and' on oplsposite sides of the center of oscillation, and means for kee ing immersed in oil the lower bearing and orsupplying oil to the 'upper bearing, substantially as described.

2. I n a centrifugal machine the combina.- tion of the hollow oscillatory suspension head containing an anti-friction thrust beariing, a solid basket-carrying shaft, a surrounding sleeve secured thereto, a sustain- ...ing thrustfbearing beneath said sleeve, an oil retaining quill carried by said head and extended upwardbetween the shaft and lower end of the sleeve to form an oil/well within the suspension head, lateral antifrictionbearings arranged above and below the upper end of said quill the said sleeve being formed with a centrifugally acting oil duct for supplying oil to thefupper lateral bearing, substantially as described. 3:v vIn a centrifugal machine the combination of the oscillatorysuspension headforming a hollow'oil reservoir formed with an overhangingshoulder to limit the upward iow of oil, a rotary basket shaft .supported on a thrust bearing contained therein, upper and lower lateralbearings by which the oscillation ofthe shaft is imparted vto the head without lost'motion, a quill secured in 'the head and extending upward around the said quill to said upper bearing, Substan` tially 'as described.

4f. The combination of the hollow oscil latory suspension head, a rotary basket shaft,

an elongatedhollow Vsleeve whose upper por- 'tion fits snuglythe inclosed portion of the shaft and .whose lower portion is of larger diameter to form'. a clearance space around the shaft, an anti-friction thrust bearing in- -.terposed" between the lower end of'thesleeve and Abottom of said head,-a quillsecured in Athe lower 4end of said. head and extending upward .between thelower end of the, sleeve and the'shaft, upper and lowerlateral'bear--- ings interposed between the upper and lower ends of the sleeve and the surrounding wall of the bearing head, an oil duct leading from the space between the quill and the sleeve to the upper lateral bearing,- the interior of said head being formed with an .annular shoulder to prevent the upward flow of oil on its interior 'face above the. level of said quill, substantially as described.

In witness whereof, I have subscribed the above specification.

,In the presencelof- Gr. ABOCKWELL,

.Gnd N. GODDARD. 

